[TuscaloosaBK]

Will bees with the old queen swarm before the capped queen cell hatches? I think I have rea this somewhere and I think it happened to me today. I had a football sized swarm go up a tree today and when I went into that hive I found about 1/2-2/3 of the bees there but 4 capped queen cells. None had been hatched. So I left the 2 biggest but cut out 2 small ones. Thanks Clark

 

[ilivetobealive]

The old queen will leave between the time and new queen cell is capped and the time it emerges. If she stays in the hive too long, the new queen will hatch and since there can only be one queen, they will likely fight. As such, I've always understood that if you have capped queen cells, chances are the existing queen is already gone.

 

[UTvolshype]

I got luck today with that, five swarm cells capped, two more almost there and I found the queen. Made three splits and move the queen to the first one. This was a double deep so I had a lot of nurse bees, a few frames of wet brood and lot of capped brood, so it was easy to split the resources out.

 

[Tallevaguy]

Hey Clark...still using the covington tp-46? I finally got a couple of hives last year. I've got more coming in a week or so.

 

[TuscaloosaBK]

I sure do. I plant corn with it every year. Still working good. I've got 8 hives but I've got a hive that no matter how much I try to prevent it from swarming it always does. I've requeened last year after 3 swarms from this hive and it looks like they just can't resist the natural urge to do it. I got to this one today and found my queen and did a split on it. She had slimmed way down from just a week ago and I thinks they would have been gone soon. How you been, still living in the same place?

 

[Tallevaguy]

That thing does a good job. I ended up getting at john deere 71 planter. I miss the to-46 fertilizer hopper. I actually also just bought the hoss push planter to use in the garden in my back yard. I have one hive busting at the seams. The other hive is average. Today I called one of the local woodworkers that builds hive components. I wanted to buy a few supers. He was slammed. He put my name is on a list. He does good work and his prices are great. I asked him if it was time to put supers on. He told me they should have already been on. I put one on each hive yesterday. My hive will probably swarm soon. I hope to catch them if they do. I wish you well on the swarming hive. I'm doing good and still in downtown Eva. Hope all is well in T town.